Charles matthews



(No Model.) C.' MATTHEWS, Jr.

AGETYLENE GAS GENERATOR,

No. 577,051. Patented' Peb. 16, 1897 {llll lll UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

CHARLES MATTHEWS, JR., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

n ACAETYLENE-GAS GENERATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part 'of Letters Patent No. 577,051., datedFebruary 16, 1897.

Application filed October 14, 1896, Serial No. 608,807. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES MATTHEWS, J r., a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inGas-Generators, of which the following is a speciication, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a verticalsection; and Fig. 2 is a cross-section at the line a: .fr of Fig. l, thecircular water-pipe therein shown being partly broken away.

This invention relates to gas -generators and is designed, primarily,for the production of acetylene gas from calcium carbid by theapplication of water thereto, but may be advantageously employed for theproduction of gas that is formed by the union of other solids with aliquid.v

It has for its object to provide a cheap, simple, and ei'ective form ofapparatus for generating gas in which the quantity generated willautomatically be regulated to correspond with the amount of gasconsumed.

' It has for a further objectto provide a construction Whereby therefuse matter or lime will be automatically discharged from the machine,thus obviatin g the necessity of providing devices within the apparatusfor receiving such refuse and of removing the same at stated intervals.

Ithas also for an object the si mplilication of 'machines of this classas a whole.

I accomplish these stated objects by the means shown in the drawings andhereinafter fully described.

That which I regard as new will be set forth in the claims.

In the drawings, 3 indicates a receiver or holder for the calciumcarbid, the lower portion of which is preferably wider than the upperportion, as shown, to facilitate the downward feeding of the carbid.

4 indicates a cover for the receiver, which is securely held in place bya bridge and screw, as shown, or by any other suitable fastening thatwill permit the cover to be readily-removed for the purpose of renewingfrom time to time the calcium carbid. As shown, near the lower end ofthe receiver there is an opening tightly closed by a cover 5, throughwhich opening access can. be had to the interior of the receiver for thepurpose of cleaning the same when necessary. This cover is also held inplace by any suitable means, the means shown being of the same characteras those employed for securing the cover 4.

i 6 indicates a water-'tank which in the construction shown surroundsthe upper portion of the receiver 3 and which may be of any desiredshape and is to be secured in place in any suitable manner.

7 indicates an inverted water-receptacle within the tank 6, and, asshown, it surrounds the carbid-receiver 3. By means of openings in thelower edge of this water-receptacle 7,

or by so securing it that, as shown in the drawings, its lower edge doesnot quite come to the bottom of the tank 6, communication is establishedbetween the tank 6 and receptacle 7 'S is a pipe the upper end of whichprojects into the inverted Water-receptacle 7, the pipe passing througha hole made for it in the bottom of the tank 6. The lower end of thispipe, as shown, is connected to a union 9, to which union is alsoconnected an annular pipe I0, that is located within the carbid-receiver3 nearits lower end, said receiverbeing sufficiently enlarged at thispoint, as shown, to so receive the pipe as to prevent the pipe from inany manner obstructing the downward progress of the calcium carbid. Theinner face of this annular ring is provided with small holes for theescape of waterthat is carried down by the pipe 8 to the calcium carbid.The water enters the pipe from the receptacle 7 through one or moreopenings ll near the upper end of the pipe. This pipe 8 has,as shown,its upper end enlarged or of funnel shape, the object of suchconstruction being to facilitate the catching of such condensation asmay have occurred by reason of the cooling of the gas as it passes upsuch pipe, as hereinafter explained.

12 indicates a Water-tank, and 13 an inverted receptacle within the tank12, the two having communication by means of openings 14, formed in thelower portion of the receptacle 13. The upper end of the receptacle 13is provided with an opening throughwhich IOO the refuse or lime formedby the action of the water upon the calcium carbid in the carbidreceiver3 can pass into the receptacle 13, such refuse or lime being dividedinto small particles before entering the receptacle 13 by being forcedthrough a sieve 15, interposed between the receiver 3 and receptacle 13.

1G indicates another sieve located within the receptacle 13 and designedto still further reduce the size of the refuse or particles of limebefore the same settles to the bottom.

17 indicates a pan in the bottom of the receptacle .13 and intended toreceive the refuse referred to. lVithin this pan there projects one endof a tube 18, the other end of which is carried outside of the tank 12 ashort distance below the upper edge thereof.

2O indicates a weight placed within the receiver 3 and on top of thevcalcium carbid therein to keep the mass moving downward to insure freshcarbid being brought opposite the annular pipe 10 to Lake the place ofthat which has been acted upon by the water issu-v ing from the holes insaid annular pipe 10.

21 indicates a short pipe communicating at its upper end with the pipe Sthrough the medium of the union 9, to which it is joined, andcommunicating at its lower end with the in terior of the receptacle 13,into which it passes through a hole in the upper end o f suchreceptacle.

22 indicates a pressure-gage communicating with the receptacle 7, and 23indicates another gage communicating with the tank 6, from which can bedetermined the amount of water required in the tank.

The operation is as follows: The receiver 3 is filled with calciumcarbid through the opening at its upper end, the weight 2O placed on themass, and the cover secured tightly in place. The tank 12 is partiallyfilled with water, as is also the tank 6, the latter to such a heightthat a small amount of water will enter the pipe 8 through the openings11. This water passing down the pipe will enter the annular pipe 10 andthrough the small openings therein be directed against the carbid, whichcauses the generation of the acetylene gas. Such gas will collect in thereceptacle 13 and will pass up through the pipes 21 and 8 to thereceptacle 7 and out through aservice-pipe 24. As the volume of gas isincreased it will by its pressure lower the water in the receptacles 7and 13 and correspondingly raise it in the tanks 6 and l2, and when thishas been done more water is to be placed in the tank 6. A suiiicientvolume of gas having been produced, the water in the two tanks will besubstantiall y in the positions shown in the drawings, and as such gaspasses off through the service-pipe 24 for consumption the pressure onthe water in. the two receptacles is of course reduced, allowing it torise7 the effect of the rising in the receptacle 7 being to allow morewater to pass through the openings 11, down the pipe 8, and onto thecalcium carbid, the effect of which is to instantly generate more gas,the pressure of which will at once lower again the water in thereceptacles. This action is repeated again and again, and it will beseen that the effect of it is to vpermit water to escape to the carbidonly as needed, so that an unnecessary amount of gas is not generated.The iow of the gas can be shut off as desired by the valve 25 in thepipe 3. W

One effect of the rising and lowering of the water in the receptacle 13is to force the refuse or lime that drops through the sieve 15 throughthe second sieve 1G, and thus further reduce the size of its particles.In this finely-divided state it settles in the pan17, and as the levelof the water in the pipe 13 rises this refuse lime matter is carriedalong with the water in the pipe, and whenever the water therein israised high enough and agitated a portion of this refuse is carried outand may be caught in any suitable receptacle. By the use of an apparatussuch as shown I have ascertained that the agitation of the water issufficient to cause a very large percentage of said refuse to be carriedoff by this pipe as the water rises from time to time high enough toescapein small quantities from the pipe.

I contemplate supplying water to the tanks as needed automatically bythe employment of a float-cock or similar device, which device, however,I have not shown, as it forms no part of my invention, and itsapplication for the purpose will be readily understood by all skilled inthe art to which such a device pertains.

That which I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by LettersPatent, is-

1. In an apparatus for forming gas by the union of a vsolid and aliquid, the combination of a receiver for the solid, a liquid-supplytank, an inverted receptacle within the tank and communicating at ornear its lower end with the tank, a supply-pipe projecting into saidreceptacle and communicating also with the said receiver near the lowerend thereof, and means for holding and conductloo IIO

ing the gas formed by the union of the liquid and solid, substantiallyas speciied.

2. In an apparatus for forming gas by the union of a solid and aliquid,the combination of a receiver for the solid,` a liquid-snpplytank, an inverted receptacle within the tank that communicates at ornear its lower end with the tank, a supply-pipe opening into saidreceptacle, and a perforated, annular, pipe within the lower end of saidreceiver and communicating with said supply-pipe, substantially asspeciiied.

3. In an apparatus for forming gas by the union of a solid and a liquid,the combination of a receiver for the solid, said receiver beingenlarged at or near its lower end to receive a pipe, a perforated pipearranged within such enlarged portion so as to offer no obstruction tothe downward movement of the solid within the receiver, and means forfeeding a liquid to said pipe for delivery onto the solid, substantiallyas specified.

4. In an apparatus for forming gas b v the union of a solid and aliquid, the combination of a receiver for the solid, a liquid-supplytank, a pipe for conducting the liquid to the solid in the receiver, awater-containing,` receptacle communicating with the lower end of saidreceiver and adapted to receive and hold the gas that is generated, anda pipe connecting said last-named receptacle with the water-supply pipe,whereby the gas may be conducted away for use,substantially asSpecified. Y

5. In an apparatus for forming gas by the

